Egerton University

World Bank Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Agriculture and Agribusiness Management (CESAAM)

Progress Report on Past Events and CESAAM Activities

Contact Person:

Prof G. Owuor,

Centre Leader, CESAAM

Egerton University,

P.O. Box, 536 – 20115,

Egerton.

Email: cesaam@egerton.ac.ke/ g.owuor@egerton.ac.ke

July, 2017

Table of ContentsWord from Centre Leader – CESAAM...........................................................................................3

Introduction......................................................................................................................................4

1. Partnership Development.............................................................................................................4

1.1 VirginiaTech (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences).....................................................4

1.2 Nanjing University, China.....................................................................................................5

1.3 Future engagements...............................................................................................................6

2. New Program...............................................................................................................................6

3. Student recruitment......................................................................................................................6

4. Participation in 4th PASET Forum and ACE-II Launch..............................................................7

5. Technical & Advisory meeting in Addis Ababa......................................................................9

6. World Environment Day..........................................................................................................9

7. Inception Workshop...............................................................................................................11

7.1 Break-out Sessions...............................................................................................................11

P a g e | 2

Word from Centre Leader – CESAAM

I am delighted to have this chance to share, together with my team, a number of activities that have been taking place over the past at CESAAM. The centre has made a number of strides that will go a long way to help it meet its purpose which is to ensure sustainability in agriculture and agribusiness management. Core in CESAAM’s overall objective is to build capacity in agricultural value chains of African countries; including those that are fragile and post-conflict. The centre also has keen interest on promoting gender balance in agriculture where its target is to have at least 40% female fellows at the centre. During the launch of

ACE-II in Nairobi Kenya, CESAAM students and the university management made positive representations and further convincing remarks from our students who made part of the youth panel during 4th PASET Forum.

The centre has since received its first batch of funding from the World Bank and proper procurement and accounting procedures are in place to help meet the laid down conditions for further engagement. The centre has signed 2 important MOUs, whose details are included in this brief progress report. A total of 923 applicants expressed interest in this fellowship and a transparent process ensued. Of the number selected, 25 were MSc and 19 PhD fellows were successful. Of the selected applicants (Overall representation), 43% of both MSc and PhD were female and 36% of the total applicants were from the region. Egerton University is ready to receive the students whose admission date is set for 21st August, 2017. Modern accommodation facilities are all set to host the students.

CESAAM has since signed 2 important MOUs with Nanjing University in China and another with Virginia Tech University in USA. The need for active collaboration came out quite strongly during these engagements and Egerton University staff and students look forward to benefiting from these partnerships. Highlights for these engagements include infrastructural development, capacity building of students and staff, retooling workshops, exchange programs, joint supervision, equipping labs, joint teaching of short courses among others. These activities on partnerships were followed closely by an Inception Workshop which was well attended by CESAAM partners, Egerton University management, staff and student representatives.

The centre’s core-team and administrative assistants have all played a key role in ensuring smooth operations at the centre and I thank them. I also offer gratitude to the World Bank Group and their ever supportive team. I offer gratitude also to the IUCEA team and Egerton University fraternity even as this project continues.

P a g e | 3

Prof G. Owuor Centre Leader, CESAAM

Introduction

Food insecurity and poverty remain the major challenges to Africa’s development, affecting about 33% of its population. One key approach in addressing Africa’s food insecurity is to build capacity along the agricultural value chains. The Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Agriculture and Agribusiness Management (CESAAM) at Egerton University (Kenya), funded by World Bank is modelled to address the above issues. The broad objective of CESAAM is to contribute to sustainable agricultural and agribusiness management through capacity development, research and technology transfer for enhanced food security. Key focus areas are: Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management, Animal Sciences, Crop and Soil Sciences, Dairy and Food Sciences among other related fields to sustainable agriculture. In the recent past, the centre has been involved in a number of activities; mostly for laying foundation and structures for its operations that have since kicked off. The following is a brief report of past activities that CESAAM has been engaged in:

1. Partnership Development1.1 Virginia Tech (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)

MoUs signed with new partner, University of VirginiaTech (college of Agriculture and Life Sciences) on 23 June 2017. Objectives of the MoU and possible areas of collaboration include the following:

1. Promote benchmarking and accreditation of selected programs in the faculty. Help Egerton in the process of global accreditation

2. Capacity building in analytical research, furthering the ability to conduct research.

3. Joint supervision of students.

4. Conduct staff and student exchange programs.

5. Conduct short courses for staff, students and interaction with private sector.

6. Collaborate on a variety of scientific topics in areas touching on climate smart agriculture, agricultural education and extension.

7. Collaborate in developing proposal for funding to achieve the above objectives.

1.1.1 Activities and timelines

The table below shows the main activities in the short term for the partnership between Egerton University and Virginia Tech.

Activity Responsible Partner Date

1. Benchmarking and outcomes assessment

a. Needs assessment VirginiaTech November, 2017

P a g e | 4

b. Guideline preparation for 2 programs VirginiaTech November, 2017

2. Exchange program

a. Research development:

Identifying possible research collaboration areas and developing proposal concepts ahead of time

VirginiaTech October – November, 2017

b. Joint supervision of students VirginiaTech and Egerton University

Immediate

3. Research Analytical Retooling

a. Coaching and review programs for cross-cutting issues

VirginiaTech November, 2017

4. Peer observation

a. Follow-up visit by Egerton to Virginia Egerton University March – April, 2018

5. CESAAM International Conference

a. CESAAM international conference on sustainable agriculture and agribusiness management

Egerton University June - July, 2018

1.2 Nanjing University, China

The MoU between Egerton University through CESAAM and Nanjing University was signed on 10/7/2017 in Beijing during China Africa Centers of Excellence Forum. The centre leader (Prof G. Owuor) and the Vice-Chancellor Prof R. Mwonya represented CESAAM during a visit to China. They visited Nanjing University where their interests were to link CESAAM to Chinese institutions.

A signed MOU between Nanjing University and CESAAM was particularly on infrastructural support and exchange program for MSc and PhD. CESAAM then prepared a work plan that was discussed with the team from Nanjing University who will visit Egerton University in September.

P a g e | 5

1.2.1 Side Meetings

During side meetings, the need to establish points of strength and partnership across centres was discussed. This involved having inter-university students exchange programs where students are sent to different centres of excellences across Africa.

On infrastructure, the Nanjing University will offer support in terms of the Laboratory equipping, a computer room and an agriculture vocational centre which will both be at CESAAM.

1.3 Future engagementsTwo MoUs under discussion are with Michigan State University and Louisiana State University-USA. Private sector MoUs with Nation media on Seeds of Gold, East African Breweries and Kenya Seed companies are presently being worked on.

2. New ProgramAmong many other programs that Egerton plans to develop, Master of Science in Agrienterprise Development has since been approved. Other are still in developmental stage and are yet to be presented before the university Senate for approval. The Commission of University Education of Kenya (CUE) plays a very crucial role in approval of courses in Kenya. Nevertheless, CESAAM has plans to have this expanded further to include regional approval of programs. This will be done in partnership with CUE and IUCEA.

3. Student recruitmentThe advert was release on February 2017 and closed on 30 th April, 2017. Both print and electronic media was used as a way of advertising. We received a total of 923 applicants from across Africa. Below is the summary of shortlist.

Newly enrolled students into Masters level programmes 2017

N % of total

Total 25 100

National Male 10 40 ‘Admission is complete students preparing to report on 21st August, 2017.

National Female 6 24 ''

Regional Male 4 16 ''

Regional Female 5 50 ''

Newly enrolled students into PhD level programmes 2017

Total 19 100 ' Admission is complete students preparing to report on 21st August, 2017

National Male 7 37 ''

P a g e | 6

National Female 5 26 ''

Regional Male 4 21 ''

Regional Female 3 16 ''

The total number of applicants for MSc were 25 while those for PhD were 19. Of the MSc applicants, selected regional fellows comprised of 36% of the total MSc Applicants where 4 were male and 5 were female. Of the remaining 64% Kenyan fellows, 10 are male while 6 are female for MSc. On the other hand, for PhD, 37% of the total applicants (19) were from the region where 4 were male and 3 were female. The overall female representation for both MSc and PhD was 43%.

4. Participation in 4th PASET Forum and ACE-II Launch

The centre participated in the 4th PASET Forum: Partnerships & Innovation for Skills Development in Africa, Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya on April 5-7, 2017. Present during these events were the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Education Dr Fred Matiang’i and World Bank Vice President Mr. Keith Hansen. The need to focus on capacity building and quality training for the ACEs were highlighted by most of the speakers. The strategic position of Egerton University in sustainable agriculture and agribusiness management was also highlighted.

Dr. Fred Matiang’i, Cabinet Secretary in charge of Ministry of Education officially launched the ACE-II project. Key among his points are the following:

1. That the government is committed to offer support for this project. He confirmed that plans are underway to disburse funds to universities to help run activities at the centers.

2. He confirmed the commitment of the National Select Committee (NSC) to efficiently and in a timely manner help universities focus on proper service delivery.

3. The CS reminded the center leaders that they have to deliver in a timely manner to access resources.

Present also during the ACE-II launch was the World Bank Vice President in charge of Human

Development, Mr. Keith Hansen who, apart from confirming the World Bank’s commitment

towards development of many more centres, underscored the following issues:

1. That Africa heavily depends on Agriculture, mining and oil but for these fields to grow

further, there is need to invest in skill and knowledge development of the African youth.

P a g e | 7

2. He further highlighted that in the region, firms face serious challenges when it comes to

recruiting young people to fill technical and managerial positions, a fact attributed to low

quality and relevance of their education and training.

3. He added that the ACEs will be expected to build institutional capacity to provide quality

post-graduate training, develop partnerships with national, regional and international

academic institutions and to improve institutional governance

4. He added that the youth (ACE students) are the main reason for conceptualization of the

centers of excellence. He further added that the youth hold Africa’s future in their hands.

He focused also on skill development, competitiveness of young people and mobility of human capital to meet arising needs in different areas.

Also during the same period was participation in World Bank Workshop on Financial and Procurement procedures on 5th April 2017 Participated in the Workshop: Center Leaders, Deputy Centre Leaders, University Finance Officers, Project Accountants, University Procurement Officers, Project Procurement Officers.

From top left Dr. Fred Matiangi Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Education, Vice President of World Bank, Mr Keith Hansen and Prof Colleta Suda, the Permanent Secretary in charge of

P a g e | 8

Higher Education in Kenya. From Egerton University: VC Prof. Rose Mwonya and Mr. Thoya Wallace (student) making their remarks.

5. World Environment DayEach year in May, the world marks its World Environment Day (WED). Egerton University, being at the core of environmental conservation and climate start agriculture, hosted the national WED celebrations. In attendance was the Cabinet Secretary in charge of the Ministry of Environment, Prof Judy Wakhungu. CESAAM played a critical role in the planning and representation of the Faculty of Agriculture in the exhibitions that also took place. Present under CESAAM were MSc Agri-enterprise Development Students, student enterprises from the department of Dairy Food Science and Technology and the Agro-Science Park who made a mark during the exhibitions marking the W.E.D.

Evident during this celebration was the fact that institutions of higher learning have to take a lead role in conserving the environment; since it is from the environment that we get all the food we eat. Further to that, the role of innovative enterprise development was also underscored during the meeting where the role of young people in innovating alternative packaging material to be used instead of polythene bags, which have since been banned in Kenya, was highlighted. The pictures below show representatives from CESAAM who exhibited.

P a g e | 9

Members of CESAAM exhibit products from the Agro-science Park, Diary and Agribusiness during WED

P a g e | 10

6. Inception Workshop The Inception Workshop or otherwise launch of CESAAM took place on 20th July, 2017 at Masada Hotel in Naivasha Kenya. The meeting, which brought together representatives from all collaborating universities except from University of Rwanda and University of Burundi. During the meeting, there was representation from University of Juba, Gulu University, VirginiaTech, Michigan State University and Sokoine University. Other institutions and private sector partners included KEPHIS, ICRISAT, Kenya Seed, Green Forest Foods and CARD.

6.1 Break-out Sessions6.1.1 Partner Roles: University Partners

PreambleSeveral institutions were represented in this group. They included:

1. Green Forest –Private Sector2. ICRISAT-Research Institution, International3. KALRO-Research Institution, National4. Community Action for Rural Development-CARD-Non-Governmental Organization5. Kenya Seed: Seed Company-National Public Sector6. Faida Seed - Private Sector National7. East Africa Breweries-Private Sector, National8. Egerton University, University Management9. and CESAAM Team10. Moi University-Center of Excellence in Phytochemical 11. Gulu University-Regional Partner, University12. University of Juba-Regional Partner, University13. Sokoine University of Agriculture, Regional Partner, University14. Virginia Tech University, International Partner, University15. Michigan State University (MSU), International Partner, University16. Kenya Plant Inspectorate Institute-Public Sector, National

The presentations centered on the 10 key activities of CESAAM, and were as follows:

A: Gulu UniversityStrengths:

Knowledge centre for innovation dissemination: It was reported that Gulu University has an operational community call centre through which innovations are being disseminated.

Innovations through Agro-science park: Gulu is using an agribusiness innovation model that links students to farmers

Research and Extension platform: There is a student centred outreach model being used to engage with communities and guide research.

Exchange programmes: The MSc Agri-enterprise programmes offered at Gulu and Egerton provide opportunities for cross movement of staff and students.

Areas needing strengthening:

P a g e | 11

More support for student enterprise schemes to enable them set up enterprises and be job creators.

Need for strengthening in sustainable agriculture as this is a major thrust of CESAAM. Need for enhanced human resource capacity. Staff can benefit from relevant training.

B: Sokoine University of AgricultureStrengths:

The College of Agriculture is strong in sustainable agriculture The School of Agricultural Economics is strong in Agribusiness management Collaborative teaching: Egerton University can benefit from visiting scholars from SUA,

especially for areas where there is a deficit, and vice versa. External examination of postgraduate theses, especially PhD Co-supervision of postgraduate students SUA has a lot of land that can be used to carry out research by students from Egerton

University Replication of some of the student experiments can be done at SUA Sharing of research equipment and facilities Student exchange programmes

C: University of JubaThis is a young institution that is facing a lot of challenges. Their role was summed up as “we need everything because we have nothing”. Specific areas highlighted were:

Training in postgraduate studies to build the university’s staff capacity Staff exchange programmes to allow the university to benefit from international staff and

also enable their staff to benefit from international exposure Joint research Short-term courses: It was pointed that most of the staff are reluctant to leave their

families in pursuit of PhD studies and would therefore benefit from short term courses.

D: Virginia Tech UniversityThe key message was “keep Virginia Tech on the list as a willing and ready partner”. The institution has capacity to collaborate in many areas. Specific areas highlighted were:

Student and staff exchange programmes Collaborative research Short-term courses Staff visits

E: Michigan State UniversityThe message was “we are a big institution and have a lot to offer in many areas needing collaboration”. The following areas were highlighted:

Training in postgraduate courses

P a g e | 12

Short-term courses Mentorship programmes for young scientists Curriculum review Writing of collaborative proposals for grants

F: Moi UniversityThe institution has been chosen as a centre of excellence for phytochemicals, textiles and renewable energy. The project is yet to be launched and can benefit a lot from lessons learnt through the CESAAM launch. There is a lot of potential for collaboration in the future in the area of research on cotton and other plants that are to be used to produce textiles. Egerton University can collaborate in coming up with suitable varieties.Moi University can also learn from the upcoming Egerton University knowledge centre, to successfully set up their own. G: Egerton UniversitySpecial presentations were made as follows:Department of Agricultural Education and Extension

The Department is a leader in the region in training agriculture teachers and extension professionals. However, it would benefit greatly by benchmarking with Virginia Tech because of its long history and outstanding agricultural education and extension programmes.

The department would like to learn from the 4H and Future Farmers programmes in the USA, which have continued to do well over time. This is in view of reviving the 4K and Young farmers clubs in Kenya, which are currently doing very badly, and increasing interest and participation of youth in agriculture.

The department can also learn from the cooperative extension model in the USA, in order to strengthen training in extension and the role of Egerton University in extension outreach.

Some of the students from Juba can benefit from modular programmes that are carried out in the Department.

Department of Crops, Horticulture and SoilsIt was noted that the Department holds the bulk of the CESAAM programme. It has a number of strengths as follows:

The Department has well trained and highly experienced staff, with over 30 PhD holders. It also has well established fields and laboratories It uses highly practical experiential learning approach in training students

However: There is dire need for external examiners especially in horticulture There is shortage of staff and the department would benefit from visiting scholars from

the region.

P a g e | 13

There is also need for collaborative teaching

Faculty of Environment and Resource Development Can collaborate in ensuring that all activities of CESAAM are environmentally sound and

meet the necessary thresholds. The faculty has capacity to do environmental as well as social impact assessments. It was pointed out that Moi University through the centre of excellence project should

leverage on the upcoming ban on plastics in Kenya, by producing environmentally friendly bags/materials for bags.

6.1.2 Partner Roles: Private Sector Partners

Training in postgraduate studies & Research

To develop functional products Consistency in quality example sorghum peeling, tannins white, sweetness lout bird damage. Integrated pest management SystemsInnovative Training

Appropriate technology Collaborative research Market testing Post-harvest handling (which often lead to 10% loss) Equipment technology development

1. Short courses Involve NGOs and Community Based Organization The short courses should target:

Academic staff Industry players Farmer production systems

2. Internship/fellowship The students should establish relevant firms for internships Guided internship; should be expanded and have targeted outputs Frequent industrial visits Students should be taught to be inquisitive & participatory skills

3. Knowledge Centre Produce short documentaries Use of common and easy to understand language

4. Innovate through Agro-Science Park Establish strong value propositions There should be constant interactions and continuous engagements Relationship should be based on trust and good faith between industry and academia

P a g e | 14

Top: A group photo of all attendance, below left: centre leader Prof. G. Owuor Makes his remarks and Left: Dr. Milu of MSU makes his remarks

P a g e | 15

Upcoming activities

1. Admission of students is ongoing

3. Nanjing University in China and CESAAM plan a consultative meeting in September 2017 at Egerton University as part of implementation planning for the MoU signed during the China Africa Centers of Excellence Forum in Beijing

2. Retooling on Research Analytics and development of fundable proposals is planned for November 2017 delivered by Virginiateck in Kenya to Egerton and Partners

P a g e | 16